Thorne v. State

Given the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt, the trial court's failure to grant a sua sponte mistrial after the state's breach of the defendant's attorney-client privilege was not reversible error.

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John Wayne Thorne appeals from the judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of the armed robbery of a convenience store.

1. The State produced testimony from a cashier at the store who testified that she saw Thorne in the store twice on the night of the robbery. In the first encounter, the cashier testified that Thorne approached her to buy some beer, but left after saying he did not have enough money to make the purchase. The cashier testified that the second encounter occurred about three hours later when Thorne returned to the store and stole about $160 from the cash register while holding her at knife point. The cashier identified Thorne as the robber during a subsequent lineup, on a videotape taken by the store’s camera system, and during the trial of the case. In support of the cashier’s eyewitness identification, the State also introduced into evidence the continuous videotape taken by the store’s camera system on the night of the robbery which clearly showed the robbery, the robber, and the robber’s visit to the store about three hours prior to the robbery. A police investigator testified that one of Thorne’s friends identified him as the robber on the videotape. Although Thorne presented an alibi defense, the cashier’s eyewitness identification and the videotape showing the commission of the robbery provided overwhelming evidence of guilt. The evidence was clearly sufficient for the jury to find that Thorne was guilty of the armed robbery beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

Thorne v. State

Given the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt, the trial court's failure to grant a sua sponte mistrial after the state's breach of the defendant's attorney-client privilege was not reversible error.

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